'You're a danger to anybody'

Michael Mathis, 37, of Zanesville, was sentenced to 18 years in prison Wednesday. He was found guilty of felonious assault by a jury after a trial Tuesday in Muskingum County Common Pleas Court.(Photo: Kate Snyder/Times Recorder)Buy Photo

ZANESVILLE - A man known to law enforcement as a captain in the Aryan Brotherhood was sentenced Wednesday to 18 years in prison — the maximum possible — for beating up another man in a gas station parking lot on Maysville Pike.

Michael Mathis, 37, of Zanesville, was found guilty of felonious assault, a second-degree felony, by a jury after a trial Tuesday in Muskingum County Common Pleas Court. Judge Mark Fleegle found Mathis guilty of a repeat violent offender specification.

For the RVO specification, Mathis faced a maximum possible 10 years, and for the felonious assault, he faced a maximum possible eight years.

On Nov. 7, Mathis verbally attacked a man in the parking lot of a gas station on Maysville Pike, according to officials. The man went inside, bought a six-pack of beer and came back outside, where Mathis was waiting with a flashlight he had taken out of his car.

Mathis struck the man with the flashlight and fled the scene, according to court records. The victim threw the six-pack at Mathis, and one can landed in Mathis's car.

Both the clerk and law enforcement identified Mathis from tattoos of a devil and a baby's face on his neck, according to trial testimony. When officers went to his home, his car was found crashed in the shrubs. A can of beer and a flashlight were found on the floor of the car.

Assistant Muskingum County Prosecutor John Litle requested the maximum sentence for Mathis, who he said did not accept responsibility for his actions and had a long criminal history, including burglary, possession, assault and felonious assault convictions.

"He's been dealing dope, he's been assaulting people, he's a captain in the Aryan Brotherhood," Litle said in court.

Witnesses were scared to testify against him, Litle said, and Mathis thought they wouldn't show up to his trial, but they did. To punish Mathis and protect society, he deserved the maximum sentence, Litle argued.

"Mr. Mathis is a menace," he said. "He is a danger to society."

Mathis's defense attorney, Nicole Churchill of Columbus, pointed out that Mathis has been cooperative with her, he can't do anything about his past criminal record and that he has five children.

"We throw ourselves on the mercy of the court," she said.

Churchill also motioned for the sentencing to be rescheduled to allow for a pre-sentence investigation to take place. Fleegle denied the motion and pointed out that Mathis had a PSI done in 2003 and had spent most of the time between then and now in prison.

Fleegle also noted that Mathis and the victim did not know each other. A man stopped to buy some beer, and Mathis attacked him, causing injuries that required hospitalization, treatment and left a lifetime scar.

The 18-year sentence is mandatory time, which means Mathis will serve every day of it.

"You're a danger to anybody, anywhere, at any time," Fleegle said.

Litle said the Muskingum County Prosecutor's Office was happy with the outcome of the case.

"We are very satisfied with the sentence handed down by Judge Fleegle," Litle said. "I think it is one more example of how crime and criminal behavior will not be tolerated in Muskingum County. We're all safer with Michael Mathis behind bars."